Ubisoft’s long-running Assassin’s Creed saga visits feudal Japan with Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Fans have long cried out for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan. The romanticised idea of ninjas and samurais, honour and battle, sits well with the series’ themes and gameplay.

2020’s Ghost of Tsushima had Sucker Punch Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment beat Ubisoft to it with a game that was Assassin’s Creed in all but name. Drawing more from a Westernised fantasy melded with films of Akira Kurosawa than historical accuracy, Ghost of Tsushima nevertheless set a high bar for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Whilst I’m a huge fan of Assassin’s Creed games, the rocky path of this latest game, with its lengthy delay and controversies during development, gave me cause for concern. With Star Wars Outcasts not being as well received as the publisher would have liked, Ubisoft has a lot riding on Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Thankfully, the extended development time seems to have paid off, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows being one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played and possibly the best Assassin’s Creed game in a while. But I didn’t find it instantly appealing.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows starts slowly, introducing the character of Yasuke, the black samurai who has caused much of the game’s controversy. Controlling the powerful warrior, players unleash hell through a carefully scripted sequence that has none of the open-world gameplay that the series is known for.

Players then switch to Naoe, a young shinobi, the polar opposite of the brutal samurai. Again, players are led through a curated sequence. With this, the game tries to ingrain its stealth mechanics into the player via a rather unforgiving scenario. Whilst it had me cursing, it wasn’t too long before I got to grips with Naoe’s moves. By the end of the prologue, I appreciated what the developers were trying to do, even if it was a bit on the nose and a chore at times.

As a reward for my efforts, the game world then opened up. And what a world it is.

The game builds on the vast open areas of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla whilst not ignoring the back-to-basics intent of Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s combat system. The result is a gorgeous-looking game that offers players enemy opponents that actually present a challenge. The enemy AI can sometimes be just as iffy as it has always been, allowing for some gaming of the system, by and large, though you’ll still need your wits about you.

The ninja/shinobi abilities of Naoe are totally befitting an Assassin’s Creed game. The animations as she leaps and runs across rooftops are straight out of pop culture references to the shadowy warriors. Whilst Naoe’s movements may be closer to Frank Miller’s depiction of ninjas in his Daredevil comics than historical reality, it ticks the box for me.

Whilst Valhalla’s Eivor gave me no inspiration for any finesse when dealing with fortified sites with multiple enemies (she is a Viking warrior, for God’s sake, a people not renowned for any subtlety), things are different with Naoe. Not only will attacks from multiple enemies quickly become overwhelming in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but Naoe’s abilities and movement also promote stealthy infiltration.

For players that have long given up on the stealth foundations of the series, there’s Yasuke, so you can continue to wage war, head-on. Whilst the powerful samurai isn’t really in keeping with the principles of Assassin’s Creed, most of the entries in the series of late have been straying far from the original premise, anyway.

Apart from the brief introduction at the beginning of the game, it was twenty hours in by the time I next had an opportunity to play as Yasuke, at the beginning of Act II. After this, players can switch between both characters. Some side missions and targets are available to both characters, but Yasuke and Naoe have their own story missions as well.

The game not only has a night/day cycle but also the turn of the seasons. This drastically changes the environment, with leaves turning orange and snow on the ground. Water also freezes, giving Naoe a fun slipping animation as she crosses the icy surface.

The game has a wanted system similar to the one in earlier games, and most recently in Mirage. This only comes into play after the first act. If guards ring a bell your character will be a target in that region and powerful guardian opponents will also spawn. The only way to remove a character’s wanted status is to wait for the season to change (or manually change it) or use scouts to remove it once your hideout has been upgraded. Switching characters also removes the wanted status, as long the other character isn’t wanted in that region as well.

Players can upgrade their hideout area with new buildings which add extra abilities. The forge allows weapon upgrades. The study and stables improve the abilities and number of scouts- which can be used to smuggle resources, reveal quest locations and remove a character’s wanted status. The Dojo allows players to train allies that can be called for assistance during combat. Other buildings increase experience multipliers and loadouts.

Probably the weakest part of the game is the story. That’s not because it is particularly bad, it’s just that the environment, the visuals and the gameplay all trump the narrative, which only really serves to move the player on to the next task. The Assassin’s Creed story has been a diminishing focus of the game since Ubisoft tied itself up in knots to such an extent that it had to kill off Desmond, back in Assassin’s Creed III. The emphasis since has been more on the vividly realised settings and the player’s interactions in those environments than a rigid story structure.

The game is every bit as packed with things to do as the previous Assassin’s Creed games to the point of being overwhelming. The vast environment is full of towns and villages, many offering ornate castles and fortifications with treasures to be unlocked once the daimyos have been defeated. There are also ronin that will attack on sight, creating a bit of mayhem if the local guards spot you fighting.

All this is tied together by visuals that look absolutely breathtaking. The game may use the same engine as previous Assassin’s Creed games, but this just makes for a more optimised experience. The atmospheric effects are incredible, with sunlight fighting through mist, and fog shrouding the landscape. Flowers blow in the wind as you run through them. In built-up areas, citizens go about their business. The world feels very much alive.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still very much in the same vein as Valhalla, offering players a fantastic, huge environment to explore that is beautifully rendered. The gameplay balances the stealth of Naoe’s shinobi with the brutality of Yasuke’s samurai to give players two very different ways to play.

The game is another hit for Ubisoft and one that they are no doubt in need of right now. The Assassin’s Creed saga continues to entertain with feudal Japan being a very fitting era for the franchise and one that fans are sure to enjoy.

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Ubisoft has just released a Gameplay Walkthrough for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the upcoming instalment in the series that will immerse players into the chaos of 16th century Japan. 

As the official CPU and GPU partner for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Intel and Ubisoft have joined forces once again to benefit gamers globally.  Assassin’s Creed Shadows, built from the ground up in the latest version of Anvil, will be optimized for Intel’s performance hybrid core architecture, ensuring the best experience happens on Intel Core 14th Gen processors. The Gameplay Walkthrough mission shown at the conference takes place in the castle town of Fukuchiyama in Tamba Province, where Naoe and Yasuke are hunting down a corrupted daimyo.

The gameplay illustrates the complementary dynamic between the two playable heroes: Naoe, the agile and stealthy Shinobi, and Yasuke, the combat-focused Samurai. Fighting on opposite sides at the beginning of the game, they will unite around common goals. As they usher in a new era for Japan, players will be able to switch characters at any time in the open world and make use of their unique mix of skills and weapons to tackle situations and face varied enemies in different ways:

• Naoe embodies the essence of a Shinobi Assassin. From a versatile grappling hook that allows for stealthy in-air assassinations and greater mobility, to kunai and her custom Hidden Blade for swift eliminations, she has access to a diverse arsenal of tools to strike from the shadows. While more vulnerable in close combat, she can skillfully deflect, dodge enemy strikes, and retaliate with lethal precision, using light, her surroundings, and structures around her to topple her foes.
• Yasuke is tailored for direct confrontations, relying on his exceptional combat skills and mastery of Samurai weaponry. Whether wielding the Katana for decisive strikes, opting for raw power with the Kanabo, or engaging opponents from a distance with lethal flint rifle called Teppo, he can handle multiple enemies at once.

In addition, players can take advantage of a new exploration feature called the “Spy Network”. Naoe and Yasuke can send out their spies to scout locations to uncover useful information about target locations, habits, and other world secrets.

With development led by Ubisoft Québec, the game will release worldwide on November 15th, 2024 on Ubisoft+, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Macs with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store, and Windows PC through the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store. Ubisoft also announced today the game will be coming to iPad at a later date.

Players who purchase the Gold Edition, Ultimate Edition, Collector Edition, or with a Ubisoft+ Premium subscription, can play the game three days early on November 12th, 2024. Fans pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed Shadows will receive an additional quest for any pre-ordered edition.

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Ubisoft has just announced that the next instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, is launching this coming November (2024).

Led by Ubisoft Québec (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey), Assassin’s Creed Shadows will immerse players in 16th century Japan. The country is heading towards a brutal path to unification, and unrest grows as new coalitions appear and corruptive foreign influences infiltrate the land.

Players will experience the intertwined stories of Naoe, an adept shinobi Assassin from the Iga Province, and Yasuke, the powerful samurai of historical legend. Discover their personal stories, meet pivotal historical figures, and shape the duo’s common destiny as they usher in a new era for Japan.

As Naoe and Yasuke, players can master two complementary playstyles, with each character featuring their own progression paths, skills, weapon options, and stats. Whether they embrace Naoe’s stealth skills or Yasuke’s combat prowess, players will have plenty of ways to approach objectives. With Naoe, they will experience refined infiltration mechanics, using light, noise, shadows, and changing surroundings to avoid detection. With Yasuke, they will be able to take on larger groups of enemies with brutal precision.

The game will let players explore a vast open world with a variety of landscapes evolving through weather and seasons. From spectacular castle towns and bustling ports to peaceful shrines and pastoral landscapes, feudal Japan comes to life with unprecedented dynamism built from the ground up with the latest version of Anvil engine and the power of new-gen consoles.

In this troubled period, information is key and will be at the heart of the renewed exploration mechanics. Players will build their own spy network to unveil new areas and hunt down targets. Allies with highly specialized skills and abilities can also be recruited to help during missions. The creation of their own customisable hideout will enable players to enhance their network and train their new crew. From base building and layout to decorations and accessories, they will be able to craft a unique place to call home.

The standard edition of the game will be available on new-gen platforms and on PC and Macs.

Fans pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed Shadows will receive an additional quest for any pre-ordered edition. The Gold, Ultimate, and Collector’s Editions of Assassin’s Creed Shadows have also been announced:

The first gameplay trailer will be revealed in June (2024).

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will release worldwide on November 15, 2024 on Ubisoft+, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Macs with Apple silicon via the Mac App Store as well as Windows PC through the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store.  Players who subscribe to Ubisoft+ or purchase the Ultimate Edition can get the game three days early on November 12, 2024.

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Ubisoft has just revealed that Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be launching on June 6, 2024, on the App Store for iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad Air and iPad Pro with M1 chip or later.

Released on consoles and PC on October 5, 2023, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the latest instalment of Ubisoft’s best-selling franchise and will be the first console title of the series for players to enjoy natively on mobile devices.

Players will be able to experience the complete narrative-driven action adventure of Assassin’s Creed Mirage on the go, exploring 9th century Baghdad as Basim, a young thief who transforms into a Master Assassin. Developed by Ubisoft Sofia, the iPhone and iPad versions of the game feature the same experience as the console version. In addition, game controls have been adapted to the iPhone and iPad touch screens, providing an intuitive, comfortable and engaging gaming experience. Cross-progression and cross-save are also available through Ubisoft Connect, letting players transfer their progress across all available platforms.

Available on the App Store, Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be free to download and play for 90 minutes. The full version supports Universal Purchase and can be unlocked with a single in-app purchase of so players can enjoy the game on both iPhone and iPad.

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With Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, Ubisoft’s flagship series crosses over into virtual reality, exclusively on Meta’s untethered Quest VR headsets.

Assassin’s Creed probably deserves to make the jump to virtual reality more than any other game franchise out there. The series’ very premise is essentially about virtual reality. The protagonists plug themselves into an Animus device, which is effectively a fancy VR system, to experience the memories of historical assassins that have been encoded into their descendant’s DNA.

After a bit of faff trying to log into my Ubisoft account to link in with my Meta account, the game wasted no time sucking me into the Assassin’s Creed mythos. My living room was filled with the light blue glow of the Assassin’s Creed menu utilising the Meta Quest 3’s mixed reality passthrough camera.

The Assassin’s Creed chronology, which the series has fleshed out over the last fifteen years, is esoteric and multi-layered. Ubisoft has tied itself into such narrative knots that the games have had to be reinvented a couple of times.

Casually picking up Assassin’s Creed Nexus, with its complex background, could be a bit overwhelming for newcomers. Thankfully, the game explains everything that you need to know on how to play and enjoy the game. The tutorial takes you through the basic mechanics of sneaking, fighting, assassinating, jumping, and climbing almost straight away. As more features unlock so do the tutorials.

The game can be played standing or seated; you just need enough space to flail your arms about a bit. There are the usual comfort settings allowing teleport locomotion, snap rotations, and movement vignetting. If you don’t suffer from VR sickness, I recommend smooth movement and turns. If you are new to this sort of open-word movement, it takes a bit of getting used to, but actually works really well.

Playing as just another triple-A VR game, players unfamiliar with Assassin’s Creed will have no trouble getting into the nuts and bolts of Nexus. If, however, you have been following Assassin’s Creed game for a while, you are in for a real treat.

The intro hints at the experience being something special. That mixed reality sequence that has you in your home, your room around you, making your Meta Quest 3 experience part of the game, really is “meta”.  The game positions the player as a hacker working undercover as an Abstergo Industries operative whilst on the payroll of the modern-day Assassins.

For those not in the know, here’s a brief rundown on the basis for the Assassin’s Creed games. There are two factions at play: the Templars, a group that wishes to shape human progress and the Assassins who believe that humans should forge their own path.  Both of these groups and their predecessors have been in conflict for over a thousand years. To achieve their goals, the Templars seek to employ ancient and powerful artifacts via their modern-day front company, Abstergo Industries.

Those artifacts, Pieces of Eden, were created by a precursor race, the Isu, who were worshipped as gods in prehistory, their existences forming legends and myths. These objects have been discovered and lost throughout history. Using a device called the Animus, the Templars use DNA memories to recreate the past and find the location of these artifacts. The Assassins are in a race to get to these objects before the Templars.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus allows players to revisit characters from across the franchise. The game’s first stop is with Eizo Auditore da Firenze, the Italian nobleman and Assassin from Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations.

The tutorial sequence has players performing short quests, such as Eizo Auditore da Firenze, retrieving his sword in 1509 Venice.  retrieving his sword in 1509 Venice. As with the main games, stealth is key. You can physically crouch or press a button. This is the point when the game’s sense of immersion really hit me. I was in a room, hiding behind some casks avoiding the guard. I watched their gaze as I sneaked past. I ACTUALLY sneaked past. Rather than just control the assassin with a gamepad, I WAS the assassin. The next room had a guard on the door, I threw a cup. The guard, distracted, left his post and I scurried past.

Next. it was time to use the game’s iconic hidden blade, by pressing the trigger and twisting my wrist to release the blade. My first attempt had me stumble, alerting the guard- you really have to jab the blade in. It feels a lot more real, and a bit disturbing when you have to physically stab your opponent. The next area was a courtyard and it was up to me to either dispatch or sneak past the guards. One hapless guard fell to my hidden blade, the others lived to tell the tale.

Climbing is a big part of the Assassin’s Creed games. In Nexus, the game has you physically climbing by reaching for ledges and pulling yourself up. After a bit of climbing and jumping, I reached my sword. The game then branched off showing how to attack and parry.

Before long I was in the Italian moonlight with fireworks in the background. In front of the fireworks the text “Ubisoft Presents” appeared and then the Assassin’s Creed Nexus logo. It gave me goosebumps and it was cemented that, yes, this is a real Assassin’s Creed game.

As with the main Assassin’s Creed series, the game has players trying to locate magical Isu artifacts, in this first of the three parts of the game, Ezio once again teams up with Leonardo da Vinci to locate the Staff of Hermes.

Being a Meta Quest exclusive, the game is tailored for the performance of the equipment. The compromise of untethered, standalone VR (and MR) means that the visuals may not be as good as those of a high-end PC or even the PlayStation VR2. But they are still very good and what would have been considered high-end PC VR graphics only a few years ago.

The game then took me back to the setting of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey as the mercenary Kassandra in 405 BC Greece. Once again, the player is charged with obtaining an artifact and must confront a Templar agent.

Ancient Greece is even more impressive than Renaissance Italy. For this second sequence, the game opens up, allowing players to traverse the map with a bit more freedom.

The final character that you revisit is Conner Kenway from Assassin’s Creed 3. Caught up in a prison break in colonial-era Boston the game has players running across rooftops and dispatching enemies with arrows and Conner’s signature tomahawk.

The play areas for each character, whilst quite large, are more constrained and curated than in the main Assassin’s Creed games. There’s also a bird’s eye view of the map that can be used to plan your approaches.

The game is a lot more physical than the main Assassin’s Creed games. Swinging your sword, parrying, climbing, and swinging all require a bit of effort rather than just pressing buttons. It’s the same with dodging, using your hidden blade, throwing knives and bow. The result, though, is a more immersive experience than any other Assassin’s Creed game.

The Meta Quest 3, being such a comfortable and lightweight device, allowed me to play extended sessions in the game. This is handy as Assassin’s Creed Nexus is no simple VR “Experience” it’s a full-length game that provides gamers with 15-25 hours of gameplay. It’s not a game that I’d recommend that you put down as the VR controls, whilst easy to pick up, are also easily forgotten, requiring another look at the tutorials, which can be a chore.

The game visuals are pretty good for a standalone VR game. There are some compromises, but the game’s immersion and the details in the environments mean that you are likely to not be scrutinising the level of ambient occlusion or counting light sources.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR is a “must-have” Meta Quest 3 game. I feel for Assassin’s Creed fans who don’t have access to a Quest headset, as this is a very special Assassin’s Creed game, one that allows players to actually be the assassin for the first time.

The post Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR (Meta Quest 3) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Ubisoft has released a new Gameplay Overview sharing how the development team took the fifteen-year-old Assassin’s Creed franchise to a new level of immersion with Assassin’s Creed Nexus in Virtual Reality, exclusively on Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro.

For the first time in the franchise, players will be able to embody three different assassins in first person across three different time periods, and physically perform Iconic Assassin’s Creed actions like wielding the Hidden Blade, exploring cities from above with parkour, engaging in combat and mastering stealth. In Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, the player is an elite hacker operating undercover for the Brotherhood at Abstergo. They will delve into the memories of iconic assassins Ezio, Connor and Kassandra, who have each crossed paths with the artifacts Abstergo seeks.

The development team gave extraordinary attention to detail in parkour mechanics, crafting large, open urban environments, called open-maps, that truly come to life in VR. Players will be able to traverse them intuitively with a sense of freedom and realism like never before.

Stealth is at the center of the Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR experience, allowing players to physically sneak around or use social stealth to blend in and tail a target without being detected. The interactive environment presents endless opportunities to create unique infiltration scenarios. To distract guards, players can make use of the whistling feature, or use throwable objects to manipulate their surroundings and outmaneuver their enemies with finesse by performing intuitive physical actions with the Meta Quest controllers.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR also introduces innovative physical gestures for blocking, parrying, and executing takedowns, providing an engaging and empowering combat system, with specific sets of weaponry for each Assassin’s arsenal. Whether you prefer to throw Connor’s tomahawk at enemies, draw Kassandra’s bow mid-air, or perform thrilling air assassinations with Ezio’s hidden blades, the options are yours to explore.

Years of development have led to Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR featuring a comprehensive suite of comfort features to accommodate players of all types with VR sensitivity. Players can remove partially or completely locomotion through space, use the Fear of Heights feature to reduce vertigo, and many more options that are fully customisable to meet the player’s needs.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR is the first AAA VR title of the franchise that allows players to embody three master assassins and physically perform their iconic actions in first person. The game will release on November 16, 2023 on the Meta Quest Platform, which includes the Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro for AU$59.95.

With development led by Ubisoft Red Storm*, Assassin’s Creed Nexus will let players choose how to achieve their objectives as they make their way through open maps and use their hands to block, parry, counterattack, and duel a variety of enemies. Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR is a full-length Assassin’s Creed game that features all the iconic gameplay from the series, including parkour, combat, stealth and the dazzling leap of faith, all with an entirely new story, only available in VR.

Players can add Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR to their Wishlist on the Meta Quest Store page now.

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Ubisoft Bordeaux invites players to 9th Century Bagdad, with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, following the early life of Basim Ibn Ishaq, the Master Assassin from 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

For over fifteen years Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed games, a mix of historical events and modern-day sci-fi, have taken players on a journey from Ancient Egypt to Victorian England. On the way we engaged in Athenian naval battles, met Leonardo de Vinci, and played a part in the French Revolution.

Played in third-person, the games have players experiencing the lives of various Assassins through the ages via a device called the Animus. Principally action stealth games, of late the games have focused more on action.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage has been presented as a return to the series roots, the long-running franchise buckling under the weight of countless games, comics, and novels. This is not the first time that Ubisoft has backed themselves into a corner with their Assassin’s Creed games, with each entry being required to outdo the last and accommodate an increasingly esoteric overarching storyline.

The success of the epic Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag forced the publisher to reevaluate the franchise with 2014’s more compact Assassin’s Creed Unity. After Unity’s successor, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the franchise was, once again refocused. 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, 2018’s Assassin’s Odyssey, and 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla featured revamped action RPG-style gameplay.

Mirage starts with a young Basim as a thief on the streets of the city of Anbar. Like many of the recent games, the story is set before the formation of the Assassin’s Brotherhood and their mortal enemies the Templars. Instead, Basim gets drawn into the conflict between their precursor organisations, The Hidden Ones and The Ancient Order. Enamoured by The Hidden Ones, Basim is taken in by Master Assassin Roshan (voiced by The Expanse’s Shohreh Aghdashloo) and, over many years, is trained as an assassin.

Whilst I consider the last three games to be some of the best in the series, they are a considerable departure from the series’ original premise. These games grant players almost superhuman abilities that make them virtually invulnerable, and stealth gameplay pretty pointless. Unlike the earlier games, they made it easier to engage in open combat than use stealth. For Mirage, the gameplay has shifted focus back to stealth, planning, and cunning.

With Basim being a newly-minted assassin, he is dispatched to Baghdad to investigate The Order of the Ancients’ presence in the city. As soon as you start playing it, the game’s change of pace is immediately apparent. Having spent the last three years as Eivor, in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, just wading into enemy strongholds and kicking arse, Basim’s comparative vulnerabilities took a bit of getting used to. My first hour or so with Assassin’s Creed Mirage was very frustrating.

It took getting a good whooping to understand that the novice assassin, Basim, really wasn’t going to be able to take on lumbering scimitar-wielding guards in a fair fight. Assassin’s Creed games should be more about assassinations than melee combat, which in this game seems designed to punish players who clumsily step out of the shadows. It wasn’t long, however, before the muscle memory of playing the early Assassin’s Creed games kicked into gear and I was meticulously removing guards from play with a hidden blade stab to the back.

The combat very much draws upon that of the first game. Perfect timing is required to block regular strikes and dodge heavy, unblockable attacks.

The game ignores the originals’ minimalistic HUD design by having opponents glow yellow before normal strikes and red before unlockable strikes. This unsubtle design decision breaks the immersion, somewhat. It’s not very practical, either, as the coloured cues don’t work if using Basim’s eagle vision.

As much as the game is a soft reboot, as well as the eagle vision sense ability that has been around since the beginning, Basim has an eagle sidekick similar to those in Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. This greatly aids players when planning assaults on heavily guarded areas.

It’s not just the gameplay that harks back to the original Assassin’s Creed game. The Middle Eastern setting of Baghdad has the same exotic feel as the earlier games. There’s even a filter that can be switched on to match the blue / grey tones of the first game.

The city of Baghdad feels like a living city. Which makes exploring it even more fun. At ground level, there are opportunities to blend in and avoid guard, but it’s amongst the rooftops where Basim’s parkour skills come in handy. There’s lots of climbing and leaping across buildings, usually whilst being pursued.

Get caught pickpocketing and killing you will gain notoriety, eventually getting instantly recognised by the city guards. They will chase you until they lose sight of you and Basim becomes anonymous. The way to remove notoriety is by ripping down posters or paying a town herald.

The game is packed with secrets, collectables, and side quests, in the form of optional contracts. Contracts range from assassinations to procuring valuable objects. They are not without their risk but grant great rewards.

The map is smaller than that of the last three games, but not overly so. The landscape still feels vast and peppered with settlement in the area surrounding Baghdad. There are plenty of secrets to find. The mystery and intrigue that is a staple of the Assassin’s Creed games are plentiful in Mirage, inviting and rewarding exploration.

Out of the box, Mirage runs well. I am playing it on a machine with an i9-13800K and an RTX 4090, but this system would still betray any inherent optimisation issues. This is likely due to the game being built upon Assassin’s Creed Valhalla as opposed to being a “new game”. Mirage was first pitched as a potential DLC for Valhalla, a game that has enjoyed a stack of expansions over the last three years.

This would also account for Mirage looking a teeny bit dated. Not the breathtakingly detailed environments, which are fantastic, but some of the character faces and animations. The absence of a season pass, and the lower cost of the retail game, as well, suggests that this is not quite a full Assassin’s Creed game in the traditional sense. That being said, it very much plays like a full Assassin’s Creed game.

With Assassin’s Creed Mirage we get exactly what Ubisoft promised. If some classic Assassin’s Creed is what you are after, polished up in a more modern presentation, this game delivers.

The post Assassin’s Creed Mirage (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, the first AAA VR title of the franchise that allows players to embody master assassins and physically perform their iconic actions in first person, will release on November 16th, 2023.

The new trailer unveils Abstergo’s sinister scheme to manipulate people’s beliefs using ancient technology. To defend Free Will, players will embark on a journey through the newly discovered memories of three master assassins from three different eras, each featuring their very own set of weapons for a unique gameplay experience. They will join Connor in the midst of the American Revolution, blend into the crowds, and dispatch foes with a powerful tomahawk throw. Players will also embrace Kassandra’s world in Ancient Greece, draw her bow, and perform the iconic leap of faith from historic monuments. Lastly, they will employ Ezio’s stealthy hidden blades to discreetly eliminate their enemies against the backdrop of the Italian Renaissance, and uncover the secrets concealed in their memories. Players will have to navigate Abstergo’s scheme as an undercover hacker, hired by their cyber-security leader, an ambitious and bright woman named Dominika Wilk, whose methods tend to be quite unorthodox.  This new character in the AC lore is played by renowned actress Morena Baccarin.

With development led by Ubisoft Red Storm*, Assassin’s Creed Nexus is the very first installment allowing players to play a master Assassin in first person. Players will choose how to achieve their objectives as they make their way through open maps and use their hands to block, parry, counterattack, and duel a variety of enemies. Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR is a full-length Assassin’s Creed game that features all the iconic gameplay from the series, including parkour, combat, stealth and the dazzling leap of faith, all with an entirely new story, only available in VR.

Players will get to immerse themselves in the action with weapons including bow and arrows, swords, throwing knives, the tomahawk, the crossbow, the Hidden Blade, and bombs. They will explore iconic historical cities including Venice, Athens and Colonial Boston. Each environment features 360-degree navigation, allowing them to climb and parkour freely as they meet civilians and historical figures, all of whom react to the player’s VR actions. They will feel the tension of stealth as they sneak up on a target from behind or surprise them with an air assassination. They can blend into a crowd or distract enemies with objects in the environment.

Years of development have led to Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR featuring a comprehensive suite of comfort features to accommodate players of all types with VR sensitivity. Players can add Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR to their Wishlist on the Meta Quest Store page Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR on Meta Quest 2 | Meta.

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Interscope in partnership with Ubisoft are set to release Mirage (for Assassin’s Creed Mirage) by OneRepublic featuring Mishaal Tamer.

This is the first time the Assassin’s Creed franchise collaborates with a top 50 global artist. This aligns with the dedication and effort that has been invested in Assassin’s Creed music over the years, resulting in a Grammy Award this year.

The song and lyrics were co-written by Ryan Tedder, songwriter and lead vocalist of the band, who took inspiration from the game. Mirage (for Assassin’s Creed Mirage) also samples some notes from the original soundtrack of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, composed by Brendan Angelides in collaboration with Layth Sidiq, lead vocalist and violinist.

“Most people don’t know this about me, but my band and I are closet gamers. I’ve been a huge fan of Assassin’s Creed since the beginning. Having toured extensively in the Middle East, I wanted to capture the spirit of that region and reflect the location of the game sonically as much as possible. I can’t wait for our fans and fans of AC to hear what we came up with.  This was a definite pinch myself moment.” – Ryan Tedder (lead singer)

In addition, the band brought in an up-and-coming Saudi artist, Mishaal Tamer, who was the opening act for OneRepublic’s Summer European Tour 2023. His style takes inspiration from Arab music from the Levant, Egypt, and the Arabian Gulf, alongside K-pop, Indie rock, and Urban Latino. Both artists’ interest of the Assassin’s Creed franchise transpired in their latest title.

“To be featured on a song with my musical heroes, OneRepublic that soundtracks my favorite video game, is a dream come true. I am honored to be a part of this special collaboration with OneRepublic and Assassins Creed.” – Mishaal Tamer .

With development led by Ubisoft Bordeaux, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is a special game made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the series.

With Mirage, the studio pays homage to the game that started it all by offering a tightly crafted, narrative driven action-adventure experience set in an immersive medieval Middle Eastern setting. Assassin’s Creed Mirage tells a powerful coming of age story featuring charismatic protagonists. You play as Basim, a cunning street thief with nightmarish visions, who embarks on a quest to join the Hidden Ones as he seeks justice and answers.

Mirage will launch on October 5, 2023, on all platforms.

The single will be available on September 22nd, 2023.

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During the Ubisoft Forward Live conference, Ubisoft revealed more about the upcoming Assassin’s Creed games: Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, and Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade.

Each title enriches and expands the Assassin’s Creed brand to new territories, giving the opportunity for more players to delve into varied settings and immersive gameplay experiences.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage

With development led by Ubisoft Bordeaux, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is an homage to the series, and a particularly special tribute to the first Assassin’s Creed. Inviting players in a magnificent ninth-century Baghdad at the peak of its Golden Age, Assassin’s Creed Mirage offers a condensed, narrative-driven action-adventure experience with a modern take on the parkour, stealth, and assassinations gameplay elements that have defined the franchise for over fifteen years.

Two new trailers were unveiled during the conference, delivering an immersive preview of the iconic Assassin’s Creed experience the game will offer to players.

As they follow the story of Basim going from a street thief to a master assassin, they will fight against the Order of the Ancients and discover more about the nightmarish visions that haunt him. Assassin’s Creed Mirage will release on October 12, 2023 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and Amazon Luna, as well as on Windows PC through the Epic Games Store and the Ubisoft Store.

Starting from launch, players will be able to learn historical information and discover images from renowned museums and institutions’ collections thanks to the “History of Baghdad” feature.

Featuring 66 historical sites across the world of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, “History of Baghdad” will provide a research-based perspective over the setting and era of the game. All entries will be available in the game’s Codex.

Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR

Led by Ubisoft Red Storm and set to release Holiday 2023, Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR is the first AAA VR title of the franchise, allowing players to embody legendary master assassins and physically perform their iconic actions throughout a full-fledged game.

The game will be available on the Meta Quest Platform, which includes the Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro. Fan favourite characters will be playable in Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR, including Ezio Auditore da Firenze in Renaissance Italy, Kassandra in Ancient Greece, and Connor in Colonial America, in an all-new story built from the ground up for VR.

Abstergo Industries has found a way to retrieve powerful lost artifacts that can profile anyone via their lifetime of memories, and then use those profiles to manipulate their beliefs. Players will work to sabotage Abstergo’s plan, discovering all new chapters of each Assassin’s story.

Players will be immersed into the world of Assassin’s Creed, using real-world motions to fight with their blade, throw their axe, and wield their bow in combat against a variety of enemies. They must move stealthily, hiding within the environment or blending in amongst civilians. Players will explore iconic historical cities including Venice, Athens and Colonial Boston, as each environment features 360-degree navigation, allowing them to climb and parkour freely as they meet civilians and historical figures, all of whom react to the player’s VR actions.

They will experience the rush of air assassinations and the thrilling leap of faith as they decide how to achieve their objectives. Years of development have led to Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR featuring a comprehensive suite of comfort features in order to accommodate players of all types with VR sensitivity. Players can add Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR to their Wishlist on the Meta Quest Store page.

Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade

Today, Ubisoft also revealed its partnership with Level Infinite, a gaming brand dedicated to delivering high-quality games to a global audience, that will publish Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade.

Players will get to access a huge open world set in third century BC ancient China, featuring iconic Assassin’s Creed’s gameplay elements: exploration, parkour, combat and assassination. For the first time in the franchise, players will be able to customize their character’s appearance and make it their own, before tackling the journey ahead, filled with ancient history and hidden dangers.

During this pivotal era, the Qin Dynasty unified China and secured the trade route to the West. Players will have to take on desert raiders and work to dismantle conspiracies, taking on greater responsibilities and facing new challenges along the way, from the Great Wall to the imperial capital of Xianyang. To ensure the delivery of the most compelling experience, players feedback will be collected through various beta phases, with the first one starting later this summer.

Pre-registrations for the next public beta phase of Assassin’s Creed Codename Jade are now open to players at assassinscreedcodenamejade.com.

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